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At least 793 records · Page 44Linked to original sources

A strategy for assembling the maize (Zea mays L.) genome.

UNLABELLED: Because the bulk of the maize (Zea mays L.) genome consists of repetitive sequences, sequencing efforts are being targeted to its 'gene-rich' fraction. Traditional assembly programs are inadequate for this approach because they are optimized for a uniform sampling of the genome and inherently lack the ability to differentiate highly similar paralogs. RESULTS: We report the development of bioinformatics tools for the accurate assembly of the maize genome. This software, which is based on innovative parallel algorithms to ensure scalability, assembled 730,974 genomic survey sequences fragments in 4 h using 64 Pentium III 1.26 GHz processors of a commodity cluster. Algorithmic innovations are used to reduce the number of pairwise alignments significantly without sacrificing quality. Clone pair information was used to estimate the error rate for improved differentiation of polymorphisms versus sequencing errors. The assembly was also used to evaluate the effectiveness of various filtering strategies and thereby provide information that can be used to focus subsequent sequencing efforts.

Algorithms↗

Multiple sequence alignment in parallel on a workstation cluster.

SUMMARY: Multiple sequence alignment is the NP-hard problem of aligning three or more DNA or amino acid sequences in an optimal way so as to match as many characters as possible from the set of sequences. The popular sequence alignment program ClustalW uses the classical method of approximating a sequence alignment, by first computing a distance matrix and then constructing a guide tree to show the evolutionary relationship of the sequences. We show that parallelizing the ClustalW algorithm can result in significant speedup. We used a cluster of workstations using C and message passing interface for our implementation. Experimental results show that speedup of over 5.5 on six processors is obtainable for most inputs. AVAILABILITY: The software is available upon request from the second author.

Algorithms↗

Prediction of Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein functional class from functional domain composition.

MOTIVATION: A key goal of genomics is to assign function to genes, especially for orphan sequences. RESULTS: We compared the clustered functional domains in the SBASE database to each protein sequence using BLASTP. This representation for a protein is a vector, where each of the non-zero entries in the vector indicates a significant match between the sequence of interest and the SBASE domain. The machine learning methods nearest neighbour algorithm (NNA) and support vector machines are used for predicting protein functional classes from this information. We find that the best results are found using the SBASE-A database and the NNA, namely 72% accuracy for 79% coverage. We tested an assigning function based on searching for InterPro sequence motifs and by taking the most significant BLAST match within the dataset. We applied the functional domain composition method to predict the functional class of 2018 currently unclassified yeast open reading frames. AVAILABILITY: A program for the prediction method, that uses NNA called Functional Class Prediction based on Functional Domains (FCPFD) is available and can be obtained by contacting Y.D.Cai at y.cai@umist.ac.uk

Algorithms↗

Combining partial order alignment and progressive multiple sequence alignment increases alignment speed and scalability to very large alignment problems.

MOTIVATION: Partial order alignment (POA) has been proposed as a new approach to multiple sequence alignment (MSA), which can be combined with existing methods such as progressive alignment. This is important for addressing problems both in the original version of POA (such as order sensitivity) and in standard progressive alignment programs (such as information loss in complex alignments, especially surrounding gap regions). RESULTS: We have developed a new Partial Order-Partial Order alignment algorithm that optimally aligns a pair of MSAs and which therefore can be applied directly to progressive alignment methods such as CLUSTAL. Using this algorithm, we show the combined Progressive POA alignment method yields results comparable with the best available MSA programs (CLUSTALW, DIALIGN2, T-COFFEE) but is far faster. For example, depending on the level of sequence similarity, aligning 1000 sequences, each 500 amino acids long, took 15 min (at 90% average identity) to 44 min (at 30% identity) on a standard PC. For large alignments, Progressive POA was 10-30 times faster than the fastest of the three previous methods (CLUSTALW). These data suggest that POA-based methods can scale to much larger alignment problems than possible for previous methods. AVAILABILITY: The POA source code is available at http://www.bioinformatics.ucla.edu/poa

Algorithms↗

Protein homology detection using string alignment kernels.

MOTIVATION: Remote homology detection between protein sequences is a central problem in computational biology. Discriminative methods involving support vector machines (SVMs) are currently the most effective methods for the problem of superfamily recognition in the Structural Classification Of Proteins (SCOP) database. The performance of SVMs depends critically on the kernel function used to quantify the similarity between sequences. RESULTS: We propose new kernels for strings adapted to biological sequences, which we call local alignment kernels. These kernels measure the similarity between two sequences by summing up scores obtained from local alignments with gaps of the sequences. When tested in combination with SVM on their ability to recognize SCOP superfamilies on a benchmark dataset, the new kernels outperform state-of-the-art methods for remote homology detection. AVAILABILITY: Software and data available upon request.

Algorithms↗

A case study of high-throughput biological data processing on parallel platforms.

MOTIVATION: Analysis of large biological data sets using a variety of parallel processor computer architectures is a common task in bioinformatics. The efficiency of the analysis can be significantly improved by properly handling redundancy present in these data combined with taking advantage of the unique features of these compute architectures. RESULTS: We describe a generalized approach to this analysis, but present specific results using the program CEPAR, an efficient implementation of the Combinatorial Extension algorithm in a massively parallel (PAR) mode for finding pairwise protein structure similarities and aligning protein structures from the Protein Data Bank. CEPAR design and implementation are described and results provided for the efficiency of the algorithm when run on a large number of processors. AVAILABILITY: Source code is available by contacting one of the authors.

Algorithms↗

The DISOPRED server for the prediction of protein disorder.

UNLABELLED: Dynamically disordered regions appear to be relatively abundant in eukaryotic proteomes. The DISOPRED server allows users to submit a protein sequence, and returns a probability estimate of each residue in the sequence being disordered. The results are sent in both plain text and graphical formats, and the server can also supply predictions of secondary structure to provide further structural information. AVAILABILITY: The server can be accessed by non-commercial users at http://bioinf.cs.ucl.ac.uk/disopred/

Algorithms↗

WebSIDD: server for predicting stress-induced duplex destabilized (SIDD) sites in superhelical DNA.

SUMMARY: WebSIDD is a Web-based service designed to predict locations and extents of stress-induced duplex destabilization (SIDD) that occur in a double-stranded DNA molecule of specified base sequence, on which a specified level of superhelical stress is imposed. The algorithm calculates the approximate equilibrium statistical mechanical distribution of a population of identical molecules among its accessible states. The user inputs the DNA sequence, and the program outputs the calculated transition probability and destabilization energy of each base pair in the sequence. As options, the user can specify the temperature and the level of superhelicity. The values of all structural and energy parameters used in the calculation have been experimentally measured. WebSIDD should prove useful for finding SIDD-susceptible sites in genomic sequences, and correlating their occurrence with locations involved in regulatory and pathological processes. This strategy already has illuminated the roles of SIDD in diverse biological regulatory processes, including transcriptional initiation and termination, and the eukaryotic nuclear scaffold attachments that partition chromosomes into domains. AVAILABILITY: http://orange.genomecenter.ucdavis.edu/benham/sidd/index.html

Algorithms↗

DSEARCH: sensitive database searching using distributed computing.

UNLABELLED: We present a distributed and fully cross-platform database search program that allows the user to utilize the idle clock cycles of machines to perform large searches using the most sensitive algorithms. For those in an academic or corporate environment with hundreds of idle desktop machines, DSEARCH can deliver a 'free' database search supercomputer. AVAILABILITY: The software is publicly available under the GNU general public licence from http://www.cs.may.ie/distributed CONTACT: tom.naughton@may.ie SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Full documentation and a user manual is available from http://www.cs.may.ie/distributed.

Algorithms↗

Finding differentially expressed genes for pattern generation.

MOTIVATION: It is important to consider finding differentially expressed genes in a dataset of microarray experiments for pattern generation. RESULTS: We developed two methods which are mainly based on the q-values approach; the first is a direct extension of the q-values approach, while the second uses two approaches: q-values and maximum-likelihood. We present two algorithms for the second method, one for error minimization and the other for confidence bounding. Also, we show how the method called Patterns from Gene Expression (PaGE) (Grant et al., 2000) can benefit from q-values. Finally, we conducted some experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods; experimental results on a selected dataset (BRCA1 vs BRCA2 tumor types) are provided. CONTACT: alhajj@cpsc.ucalgary.ca.

Algorithms↗

RAxML-III: a fast program for maximum likelihood-based inference of large phylogenetic trees.

MOTIVATION: The computation of large phylogenetic trees with statistical models such as maximum likelihood or bayesian inference is computationally extremely intensive. It has repeatedly been demonstrated that these models are able to recover the true tree or a tree which is topologically closer to the true tree more frequently than less elaborate methods such as parsimony or neighbor joining. Due to the combinatorial and computational complexity the size of trees which can be computed on a Biologist's PC workstation within reasonable time is limited to trees containing approximately 100 taxa. RESULTS: In this paper we present the latest release of our program RAxML-III for rapid maximum likelihood-based inference of large evolutionary trees which allows for computation of 1.000-taxon trees in less than 24 hours on a single PC processor. We compare RAxML-III to the currently fastest implementations for maximum likelihood and bayesian inference: PHYML and MrBayes. Whereas RAxML-III performs worse than PHYML and MrBayes on synthetic data it clearly outperforms both programs on all real data alignments used in terms of speed and final likelihood values. Availability SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: RAxML-III including all alignments and final trees mentioned in this paper is freely available as open source code at http://wwwbode.cs.tum/~stamatak CONTACT: stamatak@cs.tum.edu.

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SPEM: improving multiple sequence alignment with sequence profiles and predicted secondary structures.

MOTIVATION: Multiple sequence alignment is an essential part of bioinformatics tools for a genome-scale study of genes and their evolution relations. However, making an accurate alignment between remote homologs is challenging. Here, we develop a method, called SPEM, that aligns multiple sequences using pre-processed sequence profiles and predicted secondary structures for pairwise alignment, consistency-based scoring for refinement of the pairwise alignment and a progressive algorithm for final multiple alignment. RESULTS: The alignment accuracy of SPEM is compared with those of established methods such as ClustalW, T-Coffee, MUSCLE, ProbCons and PRALINE(PSI) in easy (homologs) and hard (remote homologs) benchmarks. Results indicate that the average sum of pairwise alignment scores given by SPEM are 7-15% higher than those of the methods compared in aligning remote homologs (sequence identity <30%). Its accuracy for aligning homologs (sequence identity >30%) is statistically indistinguishable from those of the state-of-the-art techniques such as ProbCons or MUSCLE 6.0. AVAILABILITY: The SPEM server and its executables are available on http://theory.med.buffalo.edu.

Algorithms↗

Profile-based direct kernels for remote homology detection and fold recognition.

MOTIVATION: Protein remote homology detection is a central problem in computational biology. Supervised learning algorithms based on support vector machines are currently one of the most effective methods for remote homology detection. The performance of these methods depends on how the protein sequences are modeled and on the method used to compute the kernel function between them. RESULTS: We introduce two classes of kernel functions that are constructed by combining sequence profiles with new and existing approaches for determining the similarity between pairs of protein sequences. These kernels are constructed directly from these explicit protein similarity measures and employ effective profile-to-profile scoring schemes for measuring the similarity between pairs of proteins. Experiments with remote homology detection and fold recognition problems show that these kernels are capable of producing results that are substantially better than those produced by all of the existing state-of-the-art SVM-based methods. In addition, the experiments show that these kernels, even when used in the absence of profiles, produce results that are better than those produced by existing non-profile-based schemes. AVAILABILITY: The programs for computing the various kernel functions are available on request from the authors.

Algorithms↗

ANDY: a general, fault-tolerant tool for database searching on computer clusters.

SUMMARY: ANDY (seArch coordination aND analYsis) is a set of Perl programs and modules for distributing large biological database searches, and in general any sequence of commands, across the nodes of a Linux computer cluster. ANDY is compatible with several commonly used distributed resource management (DRM) systems, and it can be easily extended to new DRMs. A distinctive feature of ANDY is the choice of either dedicated or fair-use operation: ANDY is almost as efficient as single-purpose tools that require a dedicated cluster, but it runs on a general-purpose cluster along with any other jobs scheduled by a DRM. Other features include communication through named pipes for performance, flexible customizable routines for error-checking and summarizing results, and multiple fault-tolerance mechanisms. AVAILABILITY: ANDY is freely available and can be obtained from http://compbio.berkeley.edu/proj/andy. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplemental data, figures, and a more detailed overview of the software are found at http://compbio.berkeley.edu/proj/andy.

Computing Methodologies↗

Memory efficient folding algorithms for circular RNA secondary structures.

BACKGROUND: A small class of RNA molecules, in particular the tiny genomes of viroids, are circular. Yet most structure prediction algorithms handle only linear RNAs. The most straightforward approach is to compute circular structures from 'internal' and 'external' substructures separated by a base pair. This is incompatible, however, with the memory-saving approach of the Vienna RNA Package which builds a linear RNA structure from shorter (internal) structures only. RESULT: Here we describe how circular secondary structures can be obtained without additional memory requirements as a kind of 'post-processing' of the linear structures. AVAILABILITY: The circular folding algorithm is implemented in the current version of the of RNAfold program of the Vienna RNA Package, which can be downloaded from http://www.tbi.univie.ac.at/RNA/

Algorithms↗

NetAlign: a web-based tool for comparison of protein interaction networks.

UNLABELLED: NetAlign is a web-based tool designed to enable comparative analysis of protein interaction networks (PINs). NetAlign compares a query PIN with a target PIN by combining interaction topology and sequence similarity to identify conserved network substructures (CoNSs), which may derive from a common ancestor and disclose conserved topological organization of interactions in evolution. To exemplify the application of NetAlign, we perform two genome-scale comparisons with (1) the Escherichia coli PIN against the Helicobacter pylori PIN and (2) the Saccharomyces cerevisiae PIN against the Caenorrhabditis elegans PIN. Many of the identified CoNSs correspond to known complexes; therefore, cross-species PIN comparison provides a way for discovery of conserved modules. In addition, based on the species-to-species differences in CoNSs, we reformulate the problems of protein-protein interaction (PPI) prediction and species divergence from a network perspective. AVAILABILITY: http://www1.ustc.edu.cn/lab/pcrystal/NetAlign.

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Parallel multifactor dimensionality reduction: a tool for the large-scale analysis of gene-gene interactions.

UNLABELLED: Parallel multifactor dimensionality reduction is a tool for large-scale analysis of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions. The MDR algorithm was redesigned to allow an unlimited number of study subjects, total variables and variable states, and to remove restrictions on the order of interactions being analyzed. In addition, the algorithm is markedly more efficient, with approximately 150-fold decrease in runtime for equivalent analyses. To facilitate the processing of large datasets, the algorithm was made parallel. AVAILABILITY: Parallel MDR is freely available for non-commercial research institutions. For full details see http://chgr.mc.vanderbilt.edu/ritchielab/pMDR. An open-source version of MDR software is available at http://www.epistasis.org.

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